Back Home
by Caz Malfoy
Summary: Dylan Fic: The house had been too silent since the events of recent months...


Title: Back Home  
Fandom: Torchwood  
Pairing: Jack/Ianto  
Rating: FRT  
Summary: The house had been too silent since the events of recent months...  
Author's note: This is AU and the 29th installment in the series. This takes place after What Opening Night.

x

The gravel crunched underneath the tyres of the car as the vehicle came to a stop in the driveway. The driver looked up at the house with a smile; it hadn't been that long since that last time everyone had been there for Christmas, but even so nothing had changed.

Taking a deep breath she turned the key, shutting off the engine before pulling the keys out of the ignition.

Her trainers kicked the gravel at her feet as she made her way to the front door.

She raised her hand and knocked lightly, before pushing the wooden door open and entering the house.

"Hello?" she called through the empty house, toeing her trainers off and kicking them under the sideboard more out of habit than anything else. It wasn't unusual for the house to be silent during the recent months since their lives had changed.

"Anyone home?" she added when no one answered.

A familiar figure appeared in the kitchen doorway and a smile spilt across her face as she bounded down the corridor, almost skidding on the wooden floor. "Hi," the other person greeted, wiping their hands on the towel before slinging it over one shoulder.

"Hey, tad," she beamed, wrapping her arms around Ianto and hugging him tightly. "I missed you," she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder and breathing in his familiar scent.

Ianto Harkness smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of his daughter's head. "I missed you too, Monster," he replied, hugging her again before taking a step back and looking at her with a critical eye.

Her hair was longer than it had been the last time they had seen each other, and she looked a little thinner, but nothing much appeared to have changed; although he did make a mental note to fatten her up before she left again.

"How's London?" he asked, finally releasing her and setting about making her a drink.

Ellie shrugged her shoulders. "Same as always," she replied, automatically moving to fill the kettle up; nothing really had changed about the house, everything was in the same place they had been during her childhood.

"Have you got any auditions coming up?" Ianto asked curiously; even though his partner had been the one who had introduced her to musical theatre, Ianto had never missed a performance.

Ellie grinned and opened the fridge, reaching for the milk. "That's what I came back to Cardiff for," she admitted, pouring the milk and placing the bottle back in the fridge. "We're moving the show here."

Ianto stopped in his movements and turned back to face his daughter. "Seriously?" he asked, unable to keep the disbelief from his face.

Ellie nodded her head, a serious expression on her face. "I don't know how long it's going to be for, but it'll be for at least six months," she informed him.

Ianto reached out and hugged her tightly. "It'll be nice to have you closer again," he whispered, pressing another kiss against her hair.

She smiled and returned the hug before accepting her drink and, after being instructed by Ianto, headed out into the garden.

Slowly she made her way across the lawn to the plot of land that had only recently being added to the bottom of the garden. "Hey, dad," she greeted, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

Jack Harkness looked up from his gardening in surprise. "Monster?" he asked, waiting for her nod before dropping the gardening tool and getting to his feet.

Ellie barely had time to set the cup to the side before she was crushed in her father's embrace. "Dad! Can't breathe," she gasped after a moment of him squeezing her too tight.

Jack chuckled and released her enough so her windpipe was clear. "Sorry," he whispered, kissing her forehead and looking into her eyes. "Look at you, all grown up."

"It's only been three months since I was last here, dad," Ellie blushed, rolling her eyes.

"You're still beautiful," Jack replied, wrapping an arm around Ellie. "I didn't know you were coming."

Ellie grinned and shrugged. "I asked tad not to tell you," she admitted. "Didn't want you to get too excited about me coming and make yourself sick again."

Jack rolled his eyes, leading his daughter over to the bench nearby. "I'm fine," he assured her, repeating the same phrase he always said whenever he caught Ianto looking at him with concern in his eyes.

"You're not fine, dad!" Ellie insisted before taking a deep breath. "You had a heart attack," she added softly.

"Six months ago," Jack reminded her. "I'm as fit as fiddle again now," he stated. "That was the whole point of me taking up gardening; to get me to relax."

He reached out and took her hand in his. "Is it working?" Ellie asked softly, looking down at Jack's tanned hand in hers.

"I dunno," he muttered. "I think so. I actually like being outside, surprisingly. I keep trying to get your tad to come out here and have a go, but I don't think he's buying it."

Ellie laughed and rested her head on his shoulder. "Tad doesn't need to relax," she reminded him. "You were the one who got stressed easier."

Jack rolled his eyes and nudged her with his elbow. "If you and your brother hadn't been so hell bent on turning me grey, I wouldn't have had to lay down the law," he joked.

Ellie giggled and closed her eyes, enjoying the comfort of her father before she spoke, "Have you heard from Dyl?"

"Four days ago," Jack replied with no hesitation. "He was in Paris," he added.

Ellie nodded her head; her older brother had inherited Jack's passion for airplanes and now flew for one of the world's major airlines. "He was in Tokyo last I spoke to him. He'd better have brought me back something Japanese," she muttered darkly, remembering the time he had been to Cairo and not brought her back part of the Pyramid like he had promised.

Jack laughed loudly. "He said something about needing to buy you some frogs legs," he admitted, making her gag.

Silence fell over them for a moment before Jack asked the question that had appeared in his head as soon as he had seen his daughter. "What are you doing back in Cardiff, or did you just feel like visiting?"

"We're moving the show here," Ellie informed him. "I'll be back for at least six months."

Jack grinned and hugged her tightly; he missed her terribly when she was in London working. "Where are you going to stay?"

Ellie shrugged, "I'll have to look at some apartments to rent," she replied.

The former police Captain rolled his eyes. "You have a perfectly good room upstairs, Monster," he reminded her.

"It won't just be me," she reminded him gently. Jack couldn't help grimace and Ellie jabbed her own elbow in his ribs. "You promised you'd be nice to him, daddy!" she scolded.

"Doesn't mean I have to like him," Jack retorted with a petulant pout.

Ellie heaved a mock-sigh and shook her head; she knew Jack didn't really hate Mark, her partner of five years.

"I'm your dad, I'm not supposed to think your boyfriends are worthy of you!" Jack cried when she poked his side again. "But you can both move in here for as long as you want," he continued.

Ellie lifted her head and looked into Jack's blue eyes. "Dad?" she asked in confusion.

Jack shrugged. "You can both stay here. Your old room's big enough for both of you and I know your tad would love to have you as close as possible. So would I."

"Would you…" She closed her eyes, cursing herself for sounding so nervous. "Would you be okay with us sleeping in the same room?"

He smiled and hugged her tightly. "If you're anything like your tad and I, you can't sleep properly in separate beds." Ellie nodded her head, flushing hotly. "Then you can sleep together. I – we," he nodded towards the house where Ianto was watching them from the kitchen, "trust you."

Ellie grinned widely and threw her arms around Jack, hugging him as tight as she could. "I love you, daddy," she whispered.

"Love you too, Monster."

The End


End file.
